F 194 
.B98 

1990 




















BEHIND THE MONUMENTS 




NATIONAL ARCHIVES 





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By 

Bruce I. Bustard 


NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION 
WASHINGTON, D.C. 







PUBLISHED FOR THE 

NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION 
BY THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES TRUST FUND BOARD 
1990 


Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 
Bustard, Bruce I., 1954— 

Washington-behind the monuments / by Bruce I. Bustard. 
Issued in conjunction with an exhibition held at the National 
Archives in 1990. 

Includes bibliographical references. 

1. Washington (D.C.) — History — Exhibitions. I United States. 
National Archives and Records Administration. 11 Title. 
F194.B98 1990 90-5420 

ISBN 0-911333-81-9 


Designed by Serene Feldman Werblood, National Archives 
Title design by Janice Hargett, National Archives 



CONTENTS 


Preface v 

Part I: The Federal City 

Foundations 3 
Agents of Change 7 
The Capital Besieged 14 
Alterations 24 
What Might Have Been 33 

Part II: Washington as Home 

Beginnings 45 
Government and Jobs 50 
Transportation 63 
Charity, Education, and Order 68 
A City of Neighborhoods 78 

Epilogue: Nation’s Capital and Hometown 92 


For Further Reading 102 








PREFACE 


The City of Washington, District of Columbia, can be thought of as two 
distinctly different cities. The Federal City, with its monuments, statues, 
parks, and public buildings, is familiar to most Americans. But our 
nation’s capital has also been hometown to hundreds of thousands of 
people. Washington is both monumental and ordinary, and the tension 
between these two characteristics defines the city and provides the 
foundation for its unique history. 

In the 200 years since its founding, Washington’s monumental core 
has changed dramatically as it reflected both the changing styles of 
architecture and urban planning and reacted to the major and minor 
events of American history. But as the Federal City grew, so too did the 
other city, where Washingtonians created the institutions of community 
— schools, government, transportation networks, a police force, 
charitable institutions, and distinct neighborhoods. 

This publication, produced as part of the National Archives’ 
celebration of the founding of Washington, DC, illustrates the history 
of both Washingtons — the Federal City and the hometown — through 
photographs and reproductions of documents, artifacts, and maps. 

The book is based on the 1990 National Archives exhibit 
“Washington: Behind the Monuments.” Items that appear here but not in 
the exhibit are identified with an asterisk and an appropriate citation. All 
items illustrated, unless otherwise noted, are from the holdings of the 
National Archives and Records Administration and are identified by their 
Record Group (RG) number and appropriate citation. 


The Office of Public Programs, National Archives and Records 
Administration, prepared both the exhibit and this publication. This book 
was compiled and written by Bruce I. Bustard of the Exhibits Branch, 
Exhibits and Educational Programs Division, and designed by Serene 
Feldman Werblood of the Development and Production Branch, 
Publications Division. Special appreciation is extended to National 
Archives staff members Lisa Auel, Stacey Bredhoff, Dale Connelly, 

John A. Dwyer III, Henry J. Gwiazda II, Harlan Hambright, Elizabeth L. 
Hill, Elizabeth K. Lockwood, Gerald Luchansky, Claudia J. Nicholson, 
Kitty Nicholson, Nancy J. Olds, Fred Pernell, Mary C. Ryan, Rita Sexton, 
Emily W. Soapes, Richard B. Smith, Richard H. Smith, Bobbye West, 
and James D. Zeender. 


Don W. Wilson 

Archivist of the United States 


“That a district of territory not exceeding ten miles square, 
to be located as hereafter directed on the River Potomack, 
at some place between the mouths of the Eastern branch 
and Connogohegue be, and the same is hereby accepted, 
for the permanent seat of the government of the United 
States .. 


Residence Act 
Approved July 16, 1790 



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Foundations. When the new federal government was 
formed under the Constitution in New York in 1789, it was apparent 
the time had come for the Congress of the United States to establish 
a place where the government could sit — a place of its own. For 
years Congress had wandered nomadically, rarely staying at one site 
for long. The Residence Act of July 16,1790, was the decisive step that 
Congress took to establish a permanent seat for the government of 
the United States. 

Selecting the site for this “Federal City” was difficult — politics 
and regional sentiments led to the proposal of many existing towns 
along the Hudson, Susquehanna, and Potomac Rivers. At last, in a 
compromise engineered by Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, 
and James Madison, the Potomac River location was agreed upon, 
although the specific site was left to President George Washington to 
choose. The President was deeply involved in the selection and 














planning of the city. He visited the area in the fall of 1790, and though 
he went through the motions of considering several existing towns 
along the Potomac, he never seriously considered any site except 
the area near Georgetown. After selecting land at the junction of the 
Potomac and Anacostia Rivers, Washington negotiated its sale, 
adjusted the new city’s boundaries, and chose Pierre Charles 
L’Enfant, a Revolutionary War comrade, to plan the capital. 

The planned nature of America’s “seat of empire” is one of 
Washington, DC’s most striking characteristics. Few cities of the 
time were deliberately planned, and L’Enfant’s vision was truly 
revolutionary. It adroitly exploited the site’s topography, created 
separate areas for the executive and legislative functions, and tried 
to integrate these districts into the commercial and neighborhood 
life of the city. The French-born planner also foresaw the capital’s 
need for large public spaces, monumental structures, and broad 

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The Residence Act of July 16, 1790. Competition among cities and 
geographic sections to become the nation's capital was fierce. Eventually, 
Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison arranged a 
compromise whereby southern congressmen would support a bill seen 
as crucial to New Englanders in return for northern support of a capital 
“on the Potomack!' The Residence Act left the exact location of the 
capita] up to President Washington and provided 10 years for the transfer 
of the government to its new seat. 

Record Group (RG) II. General Records of the United Stales Government 


4 


ceremonial avenues, yet he did not neglect to design a city that 
allowed for future residential growth. 

L’Enfant was the first of many Washington city planners. 
Although L’Enfant was later dismissed by President Washington and 
the city’s commissioners because of his prickly temperament, 
disputes with the commissioners, and delays in producing a city 
plan, his vision lived on. L’Enfant’s immediate successor, the 
surveyor Andrew Ellicott, eliminated or straightened a few of the 
French-man’s avenues, but Ellicott’s 1792 city plan kept most of 
L’Enfant’s other ideas. 




“ Washingtonby George Isham Parkyns, ca. 1800. The striking 
setting for the Federal City drew many comments. One English visitor 
described it as “surrounded by a complete amphitheater of hills which is 
[at] all times beautiful.” 


Courtesy of the Library of Congress 





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“Plan of the City of Washington in the 
Territory of Columbia .. .,”(1880 copy of a 
1792 map by Andrew Ellicott). The Federal City 
was first planned by Pierre Charles L’Enfant, who 
was aided by surveyors Andrew Ellicott and 
Benjamin Banneker. L’Enfant soon quarreled with 
the city commissioners, and President Washington 
dismissed him. The commissioners then asked 
Ellicott to draw up the city plan L’Enfant had 
promised but never produced. Ellicott’s plan is 
similar to L'Enfant’s, except that Ellicott eliminated 
a few diagonal avenues and straightened some 
others. 

RG 23, Records of the Coast and Geodetic Survey 
(Published Chart 3035) 


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Inset: Pierre Charles L’Enfant (1754-1825) 

RG 66, Records of the Commission of Fine Arts 
(66-HW-I7) 


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Agents of Change . Over the next 200 years L’Enfant’s 
vision has been amended, ignored, and challenged by a host of 
architects, engineers, bureaucrats, and politicians. The changes 
suggested for the Mall reflect the modifications made to the overall 
city plan. L’Enfant originally saw it as a tree-lined “Grand Avenue” 
modeled after European counterparts such as Versailles and Ameri¬ 
can precedents such as Williamsburg, Virginia. In the mid-19th 
century, architect Robert Mills saw the Mall as a series of formal and 
informal gardens leading to his monument to George Washington. A 
few years later, landscape architect Andrew Downing envisioned it 
as a romantic “pleasure garden” with meandering paths, small 
bridges, and “a public museum of living trees and shrubs.” 


Robert Mills, Plan of the Mall, February 16, 1841. During the 
19th century many architects and planners tried to envision how the Mall 
should look. Robert Mills’s plan combined both formal and informal 
gardens. At the left is Mills's Washington Monument. A canal runs along 
the Mall and cuts across it in front of the Capitol. Mills’s plan was not 
implemented. 

RG 77. Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers (CONS 90-1) 


Neither the Mills plan nor the Downing plan was adopted, but 
by 1900 Downing’s ideas had been partially implemented, and the 
Mall was covered with trees and winding walks. A railroad station 
that crossed the Mall just below the Capitol further disturbed 
L’Enfant’s design. Another plan proposed that part of the Mall 
become a paved street connecting the Capitol and the Washington 
Monument grounds. The changing face of the Mall only reinforced 


7 





































































































“View of Washington City and Georgetown, /#4,9.”This lithograph 
was designed for tourists as a souvenir. 


Courtesy of the Library of Congress 



































































what some saw as a lack of architectural unity in the city as a whole. 
They hoped for improvements on Pennsylvania Avenue, more 
parks, and greater unity in the city’s eclectic mix of architectural 
styles. 

In 1901 the Senate’s Committee on the District of Columbia 
appointed a commission that would eventually succeed in changing 
the Mall and the face of Washington, DC, to make them in harmony 
with L’Enfant’s original vision. The McMillan Commission (named 
after its sponsor, Senator James McMillan) was charged with 
drawing up “plans for the development and improvement of the 
entire park system of the District of Columbia.” But its members, 
architects Daniel Burnham and Charles McKim, landscape architect 
Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., and sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens 
had more in mind. They were determined to restore control over 
planning in the city; provide for growth; and carry out L’Enfant’s 
plan as they understood it, while keeping in mind the realities of 
modern urban life. 

What the commission proposed was much broader than their 
initial charge. Though it took years for many of the commission’s 
ideas to become reality, the Mall and the city still reflect its influ¬ 
ence. The McMillan Commission’s comprehensive plan included 
building a memorial to Abraham Lincoln, constructing a Memorial 
Bridge across the Potomac, removing the trees and train station 
from the Mall, and building a new Union Station. The commission 
also created the District’s first plan for the city’s parks and 
suggested placement of new public buildings. 



Aerial View of the Mall and U.S. Capitol Building, ca. 1900. By 

1900 the Mall was covered with trees, and a train station crossed it at the 
foot of Capitol Hill. The McMillan Commission proposed removing the 
trees, razing the station, and reclaiming the Mail as a type of “ceremonial 
avenue.” 

*/?G 66, Records of the Commission of Fine Arts (66-G-23A-6) 


9 



Daniel Burnham (1846-1912) 

Courtesy of the American Institute of Architects 
Archives 



Frederick Law Olmsted , Jr. (1870-1957) 
Courtesy of the Commission of Fine Arts 



Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907) 

Etching by Anders Zorn 

Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery. 
Smithsonian Institution 



Charles Follen McKim (1847-1909) 

Courtesy of the American Institute of Architects 
Archives 


The composition of the McMillan Commission drew upon a wide variety 
of professional expertise. Daniel Burnham was a noted architect and city 
planner, Augustus Saint-Gaudens a well-known sculptor, Frederick Law 
Olmsted an accomplished landscape architect, and Charles Follen 
McKim a principal partner in the New York architectural firm of McKim, 
Mead, and White. 


10 

















Bird’s-eye view of the Mall from Washington Monument to 
Capitol, 1901. The commission wanted to build an extensive 
“platform" surrounded by terraced gardens from which the Washington 
Monument would rise. It considered this treatment to be the “gem of the 
Mall system.” The plan was never carried out, due largely to the sandy 
soil that was not stable enough to support the proposed construction. 

RG 66, Records of the Commission of Fine Arts, General Subject File 


11 








WASHINGTON 


Plan for the Mall, 1928. The McMillan Commission put 
forward a comprehensive plan for the Mali’s development. 
This map gives some idea of their extensive plan and its 
progress to 1928. 

RG 328, Records of the National Capital Planning Commission 
(100(05.20)2509) 


12 



DEVELOPMENT STUDIES 


BY THE NAT IOI 






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2Q - THE MALL 


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We heard the tread of British army [feet], and as soon 
as we got sight of the British army raising that [Capitol] 
hill they lookfed] like flames of fire, all red coats and the 
stocks of their guns painted with red vermillion and the 
iron work shined like a Spanish dollar... ” 


—excerpt from the diary of Michael Shiner, a free black man who 
worked as a mechanic at the Navy Yard and witnessed the capture 
of Washington, DC. 


The Capital Besieged. The succession of city plan¬ 
ners from L’Enfant through the McMillan Commission left its mark 
on the city, but many enduring changes occurred as the result of 
uncontrollable forces. National and world events, accident, and 
serendipity altered the face of Washington, DC, forever. In the 19th 
century, two conflicts, the War of 1812 and the Civil War, changed the 
city dramatically. On August 24, 1814, British troops captured and 
burned Washington. A violent thunderstorm put out many of the 
fires, but the next day a tornado further damaged the city. When 
Congress returned, it estimated the damage at $2.7 million and 
seriously considered moving to a more defensible location. While 
pledges of loans from Washington banks prevented this move, many 


of Washington’s original buildings were lost, and the Capitol and 
President’s House had to be rebuilt. 

The Civil War transformed the city from a small southern town 
with a population of 61,000 in 1860 to a bustling metropolis of nearly 
200,000 living under the threat of siege. Government buildings were 
converted to military uses and housed troops or served as hospi¬ 
tals. Also, by the end of the war, the District’s black population had 
swelled by the addition of an estimated 40,000 persons, mainly 
runaway slaves known as “contrabands.” The city was attractive to 
fugitive slaves because of its proximity to the Confederacy and 
because its already large free black population made it a relatively 
safe haven. 


14 




“Capture of the City of Washington." Engraving by Paul 
de Rapin-Thoyras. When British troops captured Washington on 
August 24, 1814, they found the government had fled, leaving the public 
buildings empty. They burned the War and Treasury buildings, the Navy 
Yard, and the Arsenal, as well as the President's House and the Capitol. 
Only Blodgett's Hotel, which housed the Post Office and the Patent 
Office, was spared the flames. 

RG 111, Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Office (111-SC-96969) 


15 























“President Madison's Medicine Chest." First Lady Dolley Madison 
fled the city shortly before the British captured it. When the invading 
troops arrived they found the table set for dinner. After helping them¬ 
selves to some of the Madison’s belongings, they burned the house. Years 
later, a descendant of the British soldier who stole this chest returned it 
to the White House as a gesture of good will to the American people. 

Courtesy of the Franklin D Roosevelt Library. National Archives and Records 
Administration 



16 


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Report of James Hoban to the Commissioners of Public 
Buildings, February 5, /S/9. After the burning of Washington, 
Congress briefly considered moving the capital to a more defensible 
location. Once it decided to stay, Congress voted an appropriation to 
begin rebuilding. James Hoban’s unusually complete report of work to 
be done at the President's House shows how enormously complicated 
and costly the job of rebuilding such a fine house was. 

/?G 233. Records of the U.S. House of Representatives (HR I5A-DI3.1) 
Reproduced with the permission of the House of Representatives 










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“A View of the Capitol of the United States 
after the Conflagration of 24 August 1814." 

Congress returned to Washington to find the Capitol in 
ruins. It briefly considered leaving but a vote to move 
the Federal City fell short of a majority. After deciding 
to stay, it asked Benjamin Henry Latrobe, who had 
supervised the original construction of the Capitol, 
to return and supervise the rebuilding. 

Courtesy of the Library of Congress (USZ62-I802) 


“Extension of Capitol,” 1857. By the late 1850s 
the Capitol had been rebuilt and expanded, and a 
new dome was under construction. Despite such 
improvements, the city was still quite rustic. Years 
later, Henry Adams recalled the Washington, DC, of 
the 1850s as a “rude colony... camped in the ... 
forest with unfinished Greek temples for workrooms 
and sloughs for roads.” 

Courtesy of the Library of Congress (USA-7-5044) 



17 
































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“Topographical Map of the Original District of Columbia and 
Environs Showing the Fortifications Around the City of 
Washington, 1862" (detail). During the Civil War, Union military 
strategists realized that Washington was in a dangerous location — 
between Virginia, which had seceded, and Maryland which might. 

They built the fortifications shown on this map to form a protective 
ring around the city. 

RG 77, Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers (F102) 


\ 



























“Fort Massachusetts, (later renamed Fort Stevens). Located 
north of the city, Fort Stevens was the site of the only Civil War battle 
fought in the District of Columbia. On July 12, 1864, during the Battle of 
Fort Stevens, President Lincoln came under fire while visiting the troops 
defending the city. 

RG 77, Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers (Drawer 170. Sheet 87) 


“Sleeping-bunks of the First Rhode Island Regiment at the 
Patent Office, Washington,” Harper’s Weekly, June I, 1861. As 

Washington was flooded with troops to protect the city, many public 
buildings became temporary billets. 


RG 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration 
(64-CC-30) 


1 !) 



















































Lincoln Hospital, by Charles Magnus, 1864. Because of 
Washington, DC's proximity to many of the war’s battlefields, wounded 
soldiers were not an unusual sight on city streets. Many wounded sol¬ 
diers were brought here to convalesce in the city's temporary military 
hospitals. 

Courtesy of the Historical Society of Washington. DC 


20 













“View of Fort Gaines, defenses of Washington,” ca. 1861-65, 
Brady Collection. The defenses of Washington consisted of 193 forts 
and batteries. Building this impressive defense system cost $1.4 million. 

RG 111, Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer (1UB-627) 



“Convalescent Soldiers passing through Washington, 
November 15, 1862.” 


RG 64. Records of the National Archives and Records Administration 
(64-CC-38) 


21 


















“Barracks at Fort Carroll, near Geisboro Point, District of 
Columbia,” ca. 1861-65. Brady Collection. In 1860 nearly 700 
troops defended Washington, DC. The South’s secession put “enemy” 
territory just across the Potomac River, and the city quickly became an 
armed camp. By late June 1861, 50,000 volunteers were stationed in 
or around Washington. By the end of 1863, 20,000 troops manned the 
city’s defenses. 

*RG HI, Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers (lll-B-456) 


22 


“Old Capitol prison showing additions built after 1861,” ca. 
1862-65, Brady Collection. After the British burned the Capitol in 
1814, Congress met briefly in this plain brick building. During the Civil 
War the Old Capitol was converted to a prison and held suspected 
Confederate spies. 

RG III. Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer (II IB-8) 










Warrant asking for the return of Alfred Smith to William 
Offutt, May 16, 1862. Even after the outbreak of the Civil War, escaping 
from slavery was considered a “crime,” and federal authorities could be 
commanded to apprehend and return slaves to their owners. Alfred 
Smith was one of many black slaves who sought freedom in the District 
of Columbia during the war. 

RG 21. Records of District Courts of the United States. District Court of the 
District of Columbia, Fugitive Slave Cases, 1861-63 


district of Columbia, 


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Alterations. Neglect or accidents of history contributed to 
other less dramatic but still significant changes in the city’s 
appearance. Robert Mills’s Washington Monument, for example, was 
designed in the 1840s but, because of lack of funding, stood 
unfinished until the 1870s when Congress decided to finally appro¬ 
priate the money to complete a streamlined version of Mills’s 
obelisk. When fire destroyed the Treasury Building in 1833, Mills 
was commissioned to build a new one on the same site. Mills’s three- 
story structure was so large, however, that it encroached onto 
Pennsylvania Avenue and blocked the view from the Capitol to the 
White House, thus obliterating the vista L’Enfant had planned. 

Two other Washington structures, the State, War, and Navy 
Building (now called the Old Executive Office Building) and the Old 


“Sketch of the Washington Natl. Monument," ca. 1845, by 
Robert Mills. In 1833 the Washington National Monument Society 
organized to build this design by architect Robert Mills. Mills’s plans 
called for a 600-foot-tall obelisk surrounded by a pantheon base with 
30 doric columns representing the 30 states of the union in 1845. 

RG 42. Records of the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the 
National Capital, Washington National Monument Society, # 16 












Construction of Top of Washington Monument, 1884. 

•RG 42. Records of the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the 
National Capital (42-M-J-8) 


Partially Completed Washington Monument, ca. 1876. Just 
before the Civil War, work on the Washington Monument was halted 
because money ran out. The federal government took over the project 
from the Washington National Monument Society in 1876, with Congress 
appropriating $200,000 to finish the project with a simplified version of 
Robert Mills's original design. The monument was completed in 1884. 

RG 121, Records of the Public Buildings Service (I21-BD54JJ 



25 



















Post Office, have weathered many shifts in architectural fashion. 
Both were built in styles that quickly fell from favor; both violated 
notions of the city’s architectural unity; and both have struggled to 
survive. The State, War, and Navy Building, built in the French 
Second Empire style at the end of the 19th century, was especially 
disliked by President Herbert Hoover. But Depression-era austerity 
stopped his plans to reface it and turn it into a twin of the nearby 
neoclassical Treasury Building. The Neo-Romanesque Old Post 
Office was scheduled for destruction in the 1970s as a part of the 
Pennsylvania Avenue redevelopment plan. Citizen protest, however, 
not only saved the building but also convinced policy makers to 
adapt part of the building to commercial uses such as shops and 
restaurants. Today both buildings are treasured landmarks. 

But if the State, War, and Navy and Old Post Office Buildings 
were lucky to survive bureaucratic wars over architectural style, 
then another of the city’s major buildings, the Pension Building, 
owes its existence to a growing federal bureaucracy. The construc¬ 
tion of this “fireproof building of brick and stone” was a response to 
the large number of veterans eligible for pensions after the Civil War. 
The new building not only provided the bureau with much-needed 
record storage space but offered its employees a well-lit and 
ventilated place to work. Constructed from 1882 to 1887 and 
designed by General Montgomery Meigs, today it houses the 
National Building Museum. Its Great Hall has hosted several 
inauguration balls. 


26 


“The City of Washington from Beyond the Navy Yard," 1834 by 
William James Bennett. 

RG 59. General Records of the Department of State (59-DA-I) 







Treasury Department Under Construction, September 16, 1861. 
Photograph by Louis Emory Walker. Architect Robert Mills called 
the long colonnaded side of the Treasury “the most extensive 
[colonnade] of modern times.” 

'RG 121, Records of the Public Buildings Service (12I-BC-9A) 


27 



















-View of Washington1852 by E. Sachse. This panoramic view of 
Washington, DC, shows the Capitol Building with its dome by Charles 
Bullfinch and the Washington Canal running along the Mall and cutting 
in front of the Capitol. Robert Mills's Washington Monument can be seen 
in the distance. 

•RG 66, Records of the Commission of Fine Arts (66-HW-116) 


28 












State, War, and Navy Building, rear elevation and section 
south wing, ca. 1871. 

RG 121, Records of the Public Buildings Service (folder 3, drawing 10) 


State, War, and Navy Building, section of north wing, ca. 1879. 

Completed in 1888 after 17 years of construction, the State, War, and 
Navy Building (now known as the Old Executive Office Building) was 
designed by Alfred Bult Mullett and completed by Richard von Enzdorf. 
The building’s French Second Empire style was immediately contro¬ 
versial, and the structure has survived many attempts at demolition. 

RG 121, Records of the Public Buildings Service (folder 38, drawing 7) 


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Terra-cotta frieze by Caspar Buberl, Pension Building. One of 

the Pension Building's most distinctive features is a terra-cotta frieze 
sculpted by Caspar Buberl depicting Civil War soldiers and sailors. 

Photograph by Horten Hambright 


Memorandum to Record, Montgomery Meigs, April 5, 1884. 

Montgomery Meigs, supervising engineer and architect of the Pension 
Building, kept meticulous records of the building’s progress. Here he 
describes the construction of the building's outer walls, archways, and 
the massive columns in the Great Hall. 

RC 48, Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior. Daily Memoranda. 
1882-1887 


30 










Construction of the Pension Building , November 1, 1883. At the 

time of its construction, the Pension Building was the largest brick 
building ever built. It used 15,500,000 bricks and cost $900,000. 

*/?G 15, Records of the Veterans Administration (15-M-2) 


31 










Old Post Office Building after restoration, 
ca. 1984. The Old Post Office was the first building 
restored under the Cooperative Use Act of 1976. This 
act permitted, for the first time, commercial activities to 
take place in federal buildings. At the Old Post Office, 
restaurants and shops occupy the first three floors, and 
government agencies use the upper floors. 

Photograph by Marcia Axtmann Smith 

Courtesy of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation 


Post Office Building, (not dated). By the late 19th century, 
Washington needed a new central post office. This building, now known 
as the “Old Post Office" on Pennsylvania Avenue at 12th Street, NW, was 
built to fill that need. Mail was sorted on the large lower floor, and the 
massive atrium above provided light for all the building’s workers. 

RG 121, Records of the Public Buildings Service (121-BA-6826) 
























What Might Have Been. Thinking about Washing¬ 
ton, DC’s changing appearance raises a fascinating question: What 
might have been? Washington could have looked radically different. 
Designs for many government buildings and monuments were 
obtained through open competitions. Many people who fancied 
themselves architects submitted designs that, while novel, were 
neither practical nor beautiful. In other instances, talented archi¬ 
tects or draftsmen submitted designs, but their ideas conflicted with 
the judges’ notions. 

One of the earliest of these competitions was held in 1792 to 
select a design for the Capitol Building. Because of the building’s 
importance and because none other than President Washington was 
to be the judge, it was expected there would be numerous submis¬ 
sions. Unfortunately, there were only a few and the quality of the 





field was, in Washington’s words, “very dull.” But to our modern 
eyes, the possibility of Congress meeting in a building topped with 
figures of scantily clad figures, as in Philip Hart’s losing entry, is 
intriguing to say the least! 

James Hoban’s 1792 design for the President’s House has 
changed over the years to meet the demands of the growing 
executive branch. The most conspicuous example of this was the 
addition of the West Wing in 1902 under the direction of Edith 
Roosevelt. But other First Ladies have been known for their efforts 
at refurbishing the White House. In the 1890s Caroline Harrison, wife 
of President Benjamin Harrison, together with architect Frederick D. 
Owen, conceived of a plan that would have expanded the White 
House, Victorianized its exterior, and enclosed much of the grounds. 
While today’s Secret Service may look fondly on the security 


33 




Washington National Sphinx, ca. 1873. Government draftsman 
J. Goldsborough Bruff suggested surrounding the Washington Mon¬ 
ument with these sphinxes “of colossal proportions, to be bronze upon 
granite, suitably sculptured. Rendering it in a true Egyptian style I have 
nationalized it by the head and breast of our national bird." Brut! also 
suggested carving an "all seeing eye” in the middle of Mills’s obelisk. 

RC 42, Records of the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks, of the 
National Capital, Washington National Monument Society 


aspects of Frederick Owen’s plans, the rest of us may be thankful 
that Congress balked at funding these changes, thus saving the 
integrity of Hoban’s original design. 

Memorials have also been subject to design competitions, and 
these, too, could have looked much different had other tastes 
prevailed. Because of their prominence, the three best-known 
memorials in Washington — to George Washington, Abraham Lin¬ 
coln, and Thomas Jefferson — were the objects of much debate. 
When the long-delayed Washington Monument was completed in 
the 1870s, government draftsman J. Goldsborough Bruff suggested 
ringing the obelisk with sphinxes symbolizing “Lofty Aspirations, 
Keen Foresight, Energy, Strength, Valor, and Immortality” Instead of 
Henry Bacon’s classical design for the Lincoln Memorial, we might 
have had one of John Russell Pope’s concepts, among them a funeral 
pyre, a pyramid, and a ziggurat. 

The last of Washington’s major monuments, the Jefferson 
Memorial, was controversial because its classical form was seen by 


34 



some as outdated and too grand to “epitomize [Jefferson’s] great 
love for the common people.” Since its construction necessitated 
destroying several of the city’s beloved cherry trees, its location on 
the Tidal Basin caused protest. A group opposing construction 
chained themselves to the trees fated for removal. Their efforts 
were, of course, unsuccessful, and today the peaceful setting around 
the memorial looks as if it could hardly have stirred any contro¬ 
versy. 

Today, we too often take the vistas, buildings, and monuments 
of Washington for granted. Many are so familiar that it is easy to 
think of them as changeless and timeless. The images in this book 
offer us an alternative Washington. Though the city’s original plan 
anticipated growth, many unforeseen forces contributed to making 
Washington what it is today. The Capital’s buildings and monuments, 
so indelibly etched in our minds, could have been much different. 





“The Dedication of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, April 13, 
1943 .”The Jefferson Memorial was designed by John Russell Pope, 
who also designed the National Archives Building and the National 
Gallery of Art. 

•RG III. Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer (III WDC SCI68080- 
BNFS) 





35 










f 



“Entry for Capitol design competition by Philip Hart, ca. 1793.” 

The face of the city of Washington might have been radically different 
had prevailing tastes or the people in charge of making selections been 
different. For example, Philip Hart’s entry for the design competition 
for the Capitol was one of several found wanting by judge George 
Washington. “If none more elegant than these should appear...,” the 
President wrote, “the exhibition of architecture will be very dull indeed." 

Courtesy of the Maryland Historical Society 





2Ji 


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36 









































COftpiJed W -drawn 
By. 7^rvt> Owen 


-JAMES MOBAM 

OnuinaJ Arx/u/e- r 
/792 


MRS HARRISONS 
SUGGESTION for the 
EXTENSION OF THE 
EXECUTIVE 


PRESIDENTS PARK- 


' GENERAL PLAN 
OF BUILDINGS AND 
'*>'<* ©ROUNDS *— 
SHOWING THE 
ENVIRONMENT 
—-N * W 


Mrs. Harrison’s suggestions for White House grounds, 
ca. 1889-93. Caroline Harrison, wife of President Benjamin Harrison, 
together with architect Frederick D. Owen, conceived this plan for a new 
treatment of the White House grounds. 

RG 42. Records of the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the 
National Capital. Executive Mansion 


37 










































































































Opposite: Lincoln Memorial interior, June 9, 1912. Jules Guerin’s 
mural on the Lincoln Memorial’s south wall depicts the Angel of Truth 
freeing a slave; the angel is flanked by groups of figures representing 
Justice and Immortality. 

RG 42. Records of the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the 
Nations Capital 


Alternative design for a monument to Abraham Lincoln, 1912. 

Architect John Russell Pope proposed 10 different designs for the 
Lincoln Memorial. His designs ran the stylistic gamut from classical 
to the funeral pyre you see here. 

RG 42. Records of the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the 
National Capital. Lincoln Memorial Competition Designs 




38 



















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Lincoln Memorial model, ca. 1910. Architect Henry Bacon had 
this model built to bolster his entry in the Lincoln Memorial design 
competition. Bacon's design was selected, and ground was broken on 
February 12, 1914. The classical architecture of the Memorial was inspired 
by the Parthenon atop the Acropolis in Athens. The 36 Doric columns 
around the outside of the memorial symbolize the 36 states in the Union 
at the time of Lincoln’s death. 

Model courtesy of General Services Administration and the National Building 
Museum 

Photograph by Joe! Breger 


40 



Opposite, left: “Assembling the statue of Lincoln at the Lincoln 
Memorial, 1920.” The statue of Lincoln inside the memorial was done 
by noted sculptor Daniel Chester French. It represents Lincoln the War 
President and stands 19 feet high. In this photograph, French (left) stands 
next to the Memorial’s architect, Henry Bacon. 

‘RG III. Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer (I II-SC-74827) 


Opposite, upper right: Construction of the Lincoln Memorial, 
June 1, 1916. 

'RG 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration 
(64-NPL-499) 


Opposite, lower right: “Lincoln Memorial, showing crowds 
attending dedication exercises,” May 31, 1922. A crowd of 
approximately 50,000 people gathered on Decoration Day 1922 for the 
dedication of the Memorial. The major address of the day was given by a 
black man. Dr. Robert R. Moton, President of Tuskegee Institute. The 
ceremonies were disrupted when black guests refused to be seated in a 
segregated section of the audience. Moton went ahead with his speech, 
but 20 other blacks left the ceremony in protest. 

‘RG 111. Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer (111-SC-74831) 













41 



























"The plan marked out for this metropolis of the empire, is 
gigantic.... How many centuries shall pass away ere the 
clusters of little villages now scattered over this plain, 
shall assume the form and magnificence of an imperial 
city?" 


Frances D’Arusmont 

Views of Society and Manners in America, 1822 


Part 2 

Washington as Home 

























I 












Beginnings. When President George Washington selected 
the site for the nation’s capital in 1790, the land he chose on the 
banks of the Potomac was not uninhabited wilderness. For thou¬ 
sands of years, Native Americans had lived in and near what we now 
call Washington, DC. Recent archaeological discoveries in the area 
indicate a human presence as long ago as 9500 B.C. These “first 
Washingtonians” were primarily hunter-gatherers. By 500 B.C. they 
had developed the ability to manufacture simple pottery, and by the 
first century A.D. they were cultivating maize. The remains of their 
villages have been found at three distinct sites in the District: along 
the eastern banks of the Anacostia River, near Roosevelt Island, and 
along the bluffs of the Potomac River near what is now MacArthur 
Boulevard and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. 

By 1790 these native peoples were gone, but the descendants of 


the European settlers who had driven them out had created several 
settlements below the Great Falls on the Potomac. Georgetown and 
Alexandria were busy ports. Two small settlements, Hamburgh and 
Carrollsburgh, were also nearby But for the most part, what is today 
the city of Washington was occupied by plantations growing corn 
and tobacco. The spot where the Capitol stands was called Jenkins 
Hill. Tyber, or Goose, Creek ran from what is now North Capitol 
Street west along Constitution Avenue, NW, to the Potomac. 

Although a site had been chosen and settlements established 
by 1800, creating a community proved to be a difficult task. The 10 
years Congress had given George Washington and the city’s three 
commissioners was barely enough to begin the process of trans¬ 
forming this sparsely settled spot into a city fit to be the capital of a 
new and growing nation. Congress appropriated no money for 


45 




Prehistoric artifacts found near Howard Road, Anacostia. 

Archaeological finds such as these projectile points have been used to 
document the existence of a flourishing Native American culture as long 
ago as 9500 B.C. in what is now the District of Columbia. 

Photograph by Joel Breger 

Courtesy of the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Division 


46 


public buildings — that money was to come from the public sale of 
building lots by the federal government. President Washington had 
to enter into protracted negotiations with those who owned the 
land, and once the land was acquired by the federal government, 
sales were disappointing. In May 1800 many federal records and 
officials’ belongings at last began to arrive, and on November 21, 
1800, Congress first met in Washington, DC. 

The town they found was little more than a few foundations 
surrounded by dense forest. There were few amenities. Streets were 
mired in mud when it rained, and dust storms blew when it was dry. 
Public buildings stood half-finished and surrounded by debris for 
years. Around 1800, First Lady Abigail Adams hung laundry in the 
White House, and a servant of the Secretary of State killed a 
“brownish snake” inside the secretary’s home. When Congress first 
convened, apologetic residents wrote to Congress and the President 
asking their indulgence for “the temporary inconveniences and 
privations to which you have been exposed.” 

In this village lived a widely scattered population of nearly 
15,000. Its residents included congressmen who lived here while 
Congress was in session and diplomats representing their govern¬ 
ments. In 1800 there was also a free black population of almost 800 
and a slave population of more than 3,200. Nearly 600 houses were 
within the confines of the District, yet many observers stressed the 
rural isolation of the new city. “Everything here seems in a dead 
calm,” wrote one congressman; “an absolute supineness over¬ 
whelms all.” 



From these small beginnings Washingtonians created and built 
the institutions of community: government, jobs, neighborhoods, 
education, charities, and police protection. How some of these 
institutions developed is unique to Washington; in other ways the 
District of Columbia is like many other cities. What follows is a very 
brief history of everyday life in one city — a history that focuses on 
those institutions of community Washington calls its own. 


“Town of Secota,” not dated, engraving by Theodore De Bry after 
John White. The “first Washingtonians" probably lived in small villages 
along the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers, similar to the Native American 
settlement pictured here. 

Courtesy of the Library of Congress (USZ62-52444) 



47 











Census schedule for Washington, DC, 1800. The 1800 census for 
the City of Washington reflected the diversity of the city’s population. 
The schedule recorded males and females, slaves, free blacks, and white 
residents. 

RG 29, Records of the Bureau of the Census 


“A Slave Coffle passing the Capitol,” ca. 1820. In the early 1800s 
slaves were a common sight in the nation’s capital. During the 1840s 
Congressman Abraham Lincoln described a slave pen in the city “where 
droves of Negroes were collected temporarily kept and finally taken to 
Southern markets." The slave trade was finally banned in Washington, 
DC, in 1850, but slavery as an institution continued to exist and laws 
allowing authorities to return runaway slaves to their masters were more 
strictly enforced. 

Courtesy of the Library of Congress (USZ62-2574) 



48 













“View of the City of Washington in 1792.” This map illustrates who 
owned the land that is today Washington, DC, It greatly exaggerates the 
size of Hamburgh and Carrollsburgh, which in reality were no more than 
a few scattered buildings. Most lands around the site of the new Federal 
City belonged to plantations growing corn and tobacco. 

RG 66, Records of the Commission of Fine Arts, Historic Maps #13 


“View of Blodgett's Hotel with the White House and Treasury 
Building in the distance,” ca. 1816. This watercolor by Nicholas 
King, who worked as city surveyor, shows Washington when it was a city 
where new government buildings and hotels mixed easily with images of 
rural life. 

Courtesy of the Huntington Library 



49 












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oy. the totted stat^, 

AT THE FIRST SESSION. 


Begun and held at the city of Washington, in the territory of Columbia, on Monday, 
the seventh of December, one thousand eight hundred and one. 

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/A02 Charter for Washington, DC. The city’s first charter created 
a city council and a mayor’s office. Congress, in keeping with its 
constitutional mandate “to exercise exclusive legislation in all cases 
whatsoever," continued to reserve for itself final authority over local 
affairs. Over the last 188 years the District's government has been 
altered many times. 

/?G //. General Records of the United States Gouernment 


50 


Government and Jobs . One of the first tasks that 

Congress addressed once it had taken up residence in Washington 
was how to govern the new federal district. Because of its special 
status as the nation’s capital and because it is a part of no state, the 
Constitution grants Congress the right “to exercise exclusive legisla¬ 
tion in all cases whatsoever.” Congress acted quickly to assert this 
authority, creating a government that remains unique among Ameri¬ 
can cities. In 1802 local citizens petitioned Congress and received 
their first city charter. That document gave white male property 
owners the right to elect a city council. The President, however, 
appointed the city’s mayor, and Congress continued to reserve for 
itself final authority over the District. 











During the next 188 years there were seven forms of govern¬ 
ment in the District. The District has never had a voting member of 
Congress nor could its citizens vote in Presidential elections 
between 1800 and 1964. Finally, in 1973, Congress granted the District 
limited “home rule” and, while continuing to assert its ultimate 
authority, allowed citizens to elect their own officials and begin to 
govern their own affairs. But whatever the form of local government, 
between 1802 and 1973 Congress, especially the House of Represent¬ 
atives Committee on the District of Columbia, was the determining 
voice in District policy making. Even such purely local matters as 
taxes, zoning, mass transit, and road construction were subject to 
congressional interference. 

This “peculiar condition” of legislative influence without repre¬ 
sentation has drawn many criticisms, comments, and suggestions 
for change over the years. An 1824 petition compared the city’s 
political condition to one of “vassalage.” A 1909 petition echoed the 
language of the American Revolution in its call for a new, more 
democratic form of District government — “taxation without repre¬ 
sentation was tyranny” it declared. Such a government was “undem¬ 
ocratic, unrepublican, un-American, and contrary to the ... princi¬ 
ples in defense of which our ... forefathers pledged their lives, their 
fortunes, and their sacred honor.” 

If the District’s government was unique, the working lives of 
Washingtonians were more similar to that of other cities than one 
might think. Washingtonians have always held a variety of jobs. To 
be sure, the presence of the federal government here has meant that 


“Our charter, almost out of date 
Has only served to help the great ... 
We want a better one indeed — 

One that will give us what we need 
A good police and lamps by night, .. 
A District School, to teach our sons, 
who wander now like Goths or Huns 
And more than all we want the right 
To vote for those who rule in mightT 


Washington Metropolis 
October 26, 1839 



a 


d 


i ^—i 


Original Design for Washington, DC, City Hall, ca. 1820. 

A modified version of George Hadfield’s 1818 design for Washington, DC’s 
City Hall still stands today (without the dome) on Indiana Avenue, NW. 


Courtesy of the Historical Society of Washington, DC 


many residents have been employed by Uncle Sam. But federal 
employment has been only part of the story For example, from the 
city’s earliest years until the present, stonemasons and other skilled 
construction workers have been attracted to the area by the 
possibility of work on the city’s public buildings and monuments. 
Other workers have labored in breweries, the printing trades, hotels 
and boarding houses, or one of the city’s many banks. 

But in Washington (as in other American cities) employment 
opportunities were influenced by the reality of racial and sex 
discrimination. By 1900 black Washingtonians had developed a 
small but accomplished professional class that included 10 dentists, 
30 lawyers, and 50 doctors. Most blacks, however, were segregated 
into unskilled labor or service positions such as waiters, domestics, 
pullman porters, or day laborers on construction jobs. Despite 
Washington’s large black population, in 1908 only 9 of the city’s 498 
firemen were black, and by 1910 the State Department employed no 
blacks above the rank of messenger. 

By the end of the 19th century, women made up an increasing 
proportion of those who worked outside the home. In Washington, 
many women, especially black women, worked as domestics, cooks, 
or waitresses. White women did these jobs, too, but for them 
additional employment opportunities expanded as the federal bu¬ 
reaucracy grew. Many worked as clerks, stenographers, typists, and 
copyists. Growth in the female work force was especially great 
during wartime. The Civil War and World Wars I and II brought 
thousands of women seeking employment to the nation’s capital. 

















“ Cinderella,” April 16, 1887, by an unidentified artist. The po¬ 
litical status of the District of Columbia has always been uncertain and 
controversial. The city's lack of a voting representative in Congress and 
Washingtonians’ disfranchisement in federal elections were the subject 
of this cartoon from the 1880s. 

Courtesy of the Martin Luther King Memorial Library 


“Capital City Expenses,” January 18, 1939, by Clifford 
Berryman. Congress’s influence over the District’s affairs made a good 
subject for several generations of political cartoonists. Here Washington 
cartoonist Clifford Berryman lampoons the fact that for years Congress 
imposed higher local taxes on District residents to pay for what Berry¬ 
man thought were projects that should have been funded by the federal 
government. 


Courtesy of the Martin Luther King Memorial Library 


53 




























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Letter of introduction for stonemason James O'Brien. Robert 
Leckie to the President and Directors of the Chesapeake and 
Ohio Canal, August 2, 1829. For a skilled worker like stonemason 
James O’Brien, a reference such as this one meant the possibility of 
continued employment working at one of the city's construction proj¬ 
ects or along the canals near Washington, DC. 

/?G 79. Records of Ihe National Park Seruice, Correspondence Received by 
President and Director 


54 



Construction of Decorations, Jefferson Building, Library of 
Congress, August 8, 1891. Much of the decorative stonework on the 
Library of Congress building was done by immigrant stonemasons from 
Italy. 

Courtesy of the Library of Congress (USZ62-5I459) 



“Maid with small children,” ca. 1910. This photograph was taken 
at Washington, DC’s Meridian Hill Park by a federal government 
photographer to illustrate the textured wall in the background. It is 
also illustrative of the way in which many black women residents of 
the District earned their livelihoods — as domestics caring for 
others’ children. 

RG 42, Records of the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the 
National Capital (42-SPB-18) 




Oath of office of Addison Syphax, May 1, 1886. Federal workers 
are required to take this oath to obtain employment with the government. 
During the 19th century, thousands of Washingtonians such as Addison 
Syphax would have made and renewed their oath in writing. Mr. Syphax 
worked for 44 years with the Treasury Department. 

RG 56, General Records of the Department of the Treasury 


55 
























“Condiment Stand in Center Market,” February 18, 1915. For 

years the heart of the city’s business district was the Center Market 
located at 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. In 1890 one visitor 
observed, “The daily business in and around this splendid structure is 
simply enormous.... It is a scene of wonderful variety and animation." 

RC 83, Records of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics (83-G-3653) 


56 






Construction of the National Archices Building, December 4, 
1933. Center Market was razed during the 1930s to make way for the 
Federal Triangle buildings, specifically, the National Archives. 

RG 121. Records of the Public Buildings Service (121-BCP-111B-52) 


57 
































“A prefabricated house, proposed for housing government 
workers," May 6, 1941. Both world wars brought severe housing 
shortages to Washington, DC. As war workers arrived, the government 
and the private sector found unique ways to house them. This dwelling 
was made of steel with canvas interior partitions. Construction took 
6 days. 

Courtesy of the Martin Luther King Memorial Library (#8235) 


“ Stenographers! Washington Needs You!” by Roy Hull Still, 
ca. 1918. Women workers moved into federal employment in large 
numbers at the end of the 19th century. But during the First World War, 
many thousands more came to Washington to assist with the war effort 
often, working as stenographers, typists, or file clerks. 


58 


‘RG 45. Naval Records Collection of the Office of Nava! Records and Library 
(45-WP-345) 



Tor information apply or write to the nearer 

U. & EMPLOYMENT OFFIC1 











“Treasury Department workers trimming and boxing 
currency, ca. 190 Z” For black as well as white workers, government 
employment held out the promise of stable, long-term employment at 
relatively high wages. But black government workers found themselves 
subject to the ebb and flow of discriminatory employment practices. In 
1891, 1 out of 10 of Washington workers were black, but during next two 
decades this percentage fell as hostility toward black workers rose. 

RG 121, Records of the Public Buildings Service (12I -BA-552HH) 


59 















Employees of the Eckington and Soldiers’ Home Railroad with 
double-deck car, 1899. As the city grew at the end of the 19th century, 
new developments in transportation such as the growth of street railway 
lines provided blue collar employment for Washingtonians as trainmen, 
conductors, and mechanics. 


Courtesy of the Martin Luther King Memorial Library ( *6893) 











Treasury Department Workers, 1910. The early 20th century saw an 
explosion in clerical and professional employment in Washington. The 
presence of federal employment was a stabilizing factor in the District's 
economy and tended to insulate Washingtonians from the effects of 
downturns in the economic cycle. 

*RG 121, Records of the Public Buildings Service (121 BA-552-QQ) 


Baggage porter operating an electric baggage cart at Union 
Station, ca. 1905. Jobs in the service sector such as porters, waiters, 
and domestics provided employment for many black Washingtonians in 
the early 20th century. 

Courtesy of the Library of Congress (USZ62-91729) 



61 

























MAP 

(if Tmninmr hktwu:\ 

WASHINGTON AND PITTSBURGH 

utncuixa to Tint mrminjTKD 

CHESAPEAKE 


OHIO CANAL 

AXD ITS 

GKXRR.IL HOI TK AX 11 VROtUM 


“Map of the Country between Washington and 
Pittsburgh Referring to the Contemplated Chesa¬ 
peake and Ohio CanaI and the General Route and 
Profile ,” October 1826. Several attempts were made to 
build a canal between Washington and the west. The Ches¬ 
apeake and Ohio canal was the most ambitious of these. 
Begun in 1828, it eventually ran to Cumberland, Maryland, 
but was never a commercial success. 

RG 77. Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers (Canals 71-2) 


i 5 


io — * 











Transportation . As Washington grew, moving around 
and in and out of the city became a major concern. Early city 
promoters believed that the construction of a canal near the city 
would forge a commercial link with western markets. The biggest of 
these canal-building projects was the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, 
begun in 1828. Unfortunately, by the time the route between George¬ 
town and Cumberland, Maryland, was completed in 1850, the bulk of 
the trade with the west had already been captured by the Baltimore 
and Ohio Railroad. 

Other methods of transportation made more lasting changes. 
Railroads came late to Washington because the city had counted on 
canals to bring prosperity, but several stations in the city, especially 
the beautiful Union Station, designed by Daniel Burnham, linked the 
District with other cities and markets. Improvements in intracity 
transportation allowed residents to live away from the central city. 
Especially important were the introduction of the electric street 
railways in the 1880s, and later, the coming of the automobile. Since 
World War II, additional commuters have severely tested the 
District’s road system, and this congestion prompted measures such 
as car pooling and a return to mass transit. 


Model of a Capital Traction Company Streetcar, ca. 1900. 

The Capital Traction Company existed from 1899 until 1902, when 
it consolidated with several other street railroad companies. 

Photograph by Joel Breger 

Model courtesy of the National Museum of American History. Smithsonian 
Institution 



63 










“View of line-up of automobiles at a stop sign on Maine Ave. 
during late afternoon rush hour,” ca. 1950. After World War II, 
moving in and out of the city became an increasingly difficult task. An 
increase in commuter traffic from the Maryland and Virginia suburbs 
was largely responsible for this congestion. 

RG 306. Records of the United States Information Agency (306PS-49-I2634J 


“‘Walk,’ ‘Don't Walk,' ‘No Right turn' ‘thru only.’A complicated 
traffic signal to uncomplicate Washington, DC traffic,” 1949. 

As urban life became increasingly complex after World War II, so did 
Washington, DC’s traffic patterns. 

RG 306, Records of the United Stales Information Agency (306-PS-49-2682) 


64 



















Dupont Circle Metrorail Station, June 22, 1977. In 1962 
Washington-area governments adopted a plan to construct a regional 
mass-transit rail system that would link Washington and its Maryland and 
Virginia suburbs. Begun in 1969, the Metrorail system is to be completed 
in the 1990s and will contain 87 stations and 103 miles of track. The 
system’s first segment was finished in 1976. 


Photograph by Phil Portlock 

Courtesy of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority 


65 








Aerial photograph of Union Station, 1940. The convergence of 
railroad tracks north of the Capitol identifies Union Station in this aerial 
photograph. The station was the transportation hub of the city from 1907 
until the end of World War II. 


RG 373. Records of the Defense Intelligence Agency (Can IA-488 exposure 
1103) 



























n 



Interior of Union Station, 1988. Originally designed by architect 
Daniel Burnham in the early 20th century, Union Station fell into dis¬ 
repair during the 1960s and 1970s. The station, including its magnificent 
vaulted interior, was restored and reopened in 1988. It once again serves 
Washington, DC, as a railway terminal but now also houses a variety of 
shops, restaurants, and movie theaters. 

Photograph by Nina Tisara 


67 








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Petition from the citizens of the District of Columbia regarding 
the insane, 1851. In 1851 District residents petitioned Congress for help 
in caring for individuals “who ramble about the city, frequently but 
poorly clad and suffering from want of food and shelter.” 

/?G 46. Records of the United States Senate (32A H5) 

Reproduced with the permission of the Senate 


Charity ; Education , and Order. Institutions 

promoting charity, education, and public safety have also changed 
over the District’s history Efforts to help those in need began soon 
after the city’s founding. One early private effort, the Washington 
Female Orphan Asylum, was organized by Dolley Madison. Such 
private charities expanded throughout the 19th century They 
included a society for the relief of the “penniless and forlorn 
emigrant,” a medical society for the poor, and benevolent associa¬ 
tions sponsored by members of fraternal, workingmen’s, or religious 
organizations. 


Engraving of the Government Hospital for the insane of the 
Army, Navy, and the District of Columbia, ca. 1855. Responding 
to the urgings of mental health reformer Dorthea Dix and others, Con¬ 
gress established an asylum east of the Anacostia River. St. Elizabeths 
Hospital, as it has come to be known, has served the District 
continuously since 1855. 

RG 77, Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers (Cons 102 *2) 



68 










These private networks, along with the city’s poor fund, 
provided the bulk of welfare services in 19th-century Washington. 
However, the federal government occasionally played an important 
role. Congress funded major projects such as Saint Elizabeths 
Hospital for the mentally ill, and after the Civil War it sponsored 
relief to newly freed destitute slaves through the Freedmen’s 
Bureau. In the 20th century, work relief helped Washingtonians 
survive the Great Depression. Local authorities ran a woodpile 
where one could split wood for fuel and also be paid to deliver it to 
other needy individuals. The Work Projects Administration (WPA) 
provided additional employment by sponsoring projects such as the 
cleaning and repair of the Washington Monument, constructing 
playgrounds, writing guidebooks, and operating day nurseries. 

In addition to caring about the less fortunate in their midst, 
Washingtonians have cared as well about educating their young. 



. ?w- 




Public education in the District of Columbia dates from 1806 when 
two schools were founded. Unfortunately, lack of funding forced 
trustees to charge for all but the poorest of students; those who 
could afford to pay quickly became unwilling to send their children 
to what became known as “pauper schools.” In the 1840s the city 
council, under the leadership of Mayor William Seaton, created a 
truly tax-supported public educational system for white boys and 
girls. 

Education for black children developed more slowly. Before the 
Civil War, free black children were forbidden to attend public 
schools even when their parents paid taxes. In 1862 Congress 
created a Board of Trustees for Colored Schools in the District of 
Columbia. After emancipation, schools sponsored by the Freed¬ 
men’s Bureau appeared throughout the city. The District’s schools 
remained segregated until September 1954, when, like many other 
school systems, it was integrated under a decision issued with the 
Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling. 

Many colleges and universities have also called Washington 
home. George Washington dreamed that the nation’s capital would 
become a center for learning and the arts and home to a national 
university. Although plans for a national university never came to 
pass, the city did attract a number of institutions of higher 
education. Georgetown, George Washington, American, Howard, 
Gallaudet, and Catholic Universities are some of the schools that 
have made Washington a major center for research and teaching. 

Several of these schools are especially noteworthy. George- 


69 












Work Projects Administration worker receiving paycheck, 
January 1939. During the Great Depression, many Washingtonians 
looked to WPA-sponsored construction projects for employment. 

RG 69. Records of the Work Projects Administration (69-N-19626) 


town, the city’s first college, was established in 1815 as a Catholic 
seminary. It is the oldest Catholic university in the United States. 
Gallaudet University, established in 1857 as the Columbia Institution 
for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind, was the world’s first college for the 
deaf. In 1867 Congress chartered Howard University as one means to 
educate black people after emancipation. It was the first biracial 
college south of the Mason-Dixon line and has become one of the 
nation’s premier traditionally black universities. 


70 


Like any city, Washington, DC, has needed to be concerned 
about maintaining order so its residents can live and work together 
in safety. When the city was first settled, few worried about crime. 
The local jail was used mainly for debtors and runaway slaves. Even 
by 1840, Washington City provided only a few “ward constables,” 
who rarely worked at night, to police the city. 

Both Congress and local authorities have sought to respond to 
citizen calls for increased protection and safety. In the 1820s a 
movement aimed at humanizing criminal punishment swept the 
United States. One result of the movement in Washington was the 
construction of a penitentiary that would house large numbers of 
convicted criminals in isolation. The penitentiary was located at 
Greenleaf Point on the site of what is now Fort Leslie McNair and 
served the District from 1831 until 1862. 

Another example of governmental action was Congress’s cre¬ 
ation of Washington’s first nighttime police force. In the 1840s gangs 
of young toughs took control of many of Washington, DC’s volunteer 
fire companies and began setting fires around the city so they could 
experience the thrill of extinguishing the blazes. In 1842 the threat to 
property became so large that Congress created an Auxiliary Guard 
to protect federal buildings at night. In the 1850s Congress, once 
again concerned about a crime wave, considered enlarging the city’s 
police force and placing it under federal control. A bill to that effect 
was debated in the House and the Senate but failed to become law 
because the two houses could not agree on who would appoint or 
pay for the proposed force. 



Peabody Nursery School, April 13, 1938. WPA-sponsored nursery 
and day schools provided employment for teachers and care for the 
children of parents who worked outside the home. 

RG 69. Records of the Work Projects Administration (69-N-I3938) 


Petition to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives 
calling for a “uniform and impartial system of public schools,” 
1869. In 1862 Congress created a Board of Trustees for Colored Schools 
to oversee the education of black children in the city. However, public 
education for blacks suffered from discrimination and unequal funding. 

In spite of these handicaps, opportunities for education were en¬ 
thusiastically embraced by Washington's black citizens. In 1864 the 
chairman of the Board of Trustees wrote that the “hungry hands of the 
learners, old and young, grasp eagerly at all the instruction offered." 

RG 46. Records of the U.S. Senate (41A-H5.2) 

Reproduced with the permission of the Senate 


PETITION. 


To the Honorable the 


Senate and lfon.se of Representatives 

ill Congress assembled: 


The undersigned, colored citizens of Washington and Georgetown, in the District of Columbia, 
respectfully represent to your honorable boJy that further legislation in behalf of the education of 
our children in this District is urgently needed; and we therefore humbly but earnestly pray you to 
speedily talte such action as shall provide a uniform and impartial system of Public Schools for the 
entire District of Columbia, under one Hoard of Management; or, should it lie impracticable to 
elaborate a measure so comprehensive during the present brief session, to at once so amend the 
present laws relating to colored schools in these cities as to provide for the appointment of a Board 
of nine Trustees, (instead of three, as at present,) to wit, seven from Washington (one from each 
ward) and two from Georgetown; and to give these Trustees authority to establish schools of a 
higher grade than primary, and to employ a Superintendent of Schools. 

And as in duty bound will ever prav. 

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71 





Engraving of the Sumner School, 1873. Named for the abolitionist 
senator from Massachusetts, the Charles Sumner School was completed 
in 1872 on land given to the Board of Trustees for Colored Schools by the 
Freedmen's Bureau. Designed by the noted architect Adolf Cluss, the 
school held both elementary and secondary schools. In 1877 it 
graduated Washington, DC’s first black high school class. 

Photograph courtesy of the District of Columbia Public Schools 


“Columbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, later Gallaudet 
University,” November 1, 1878. The Columbia Institution for the Deaf, 
Dumb, and Blind was founded in 1857. It soon became the world's 
leading educational institution for the deaf. It is now called Gallaudet 
University after pioneer educator of the deaf Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet. 

RG 48, Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior (48-RSD-l-4) 


72 


























Georgetown University from the Potomac River, ca. 1950. 

Chartered in 1815, Georgetown University is the city’s oldest university 
and the oldest Catholic university in the nation. 

RG 306. Records of the United States Information Agency (306-PS-50-I0I89) 








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Architectural drawing of the District of Columbia Penitentiary, 
1826. This drawing, “showing the arrangement of the cells," was drawn 
by the penitentiary's architect, Charles Bullfinch. The District’s federal 
penitentiary operated between 1831 and 1862. 

RG 42. Records of the Office of Public Buildings and Parks of the Nation's 
Capital. D C. Penitentiary, Series 4. *9 


74 



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Columbia penitentiary, 1831-47. When inmates violated prison 
rules, they were punished, usually by solitary confinement. This sort of 
punishment was considered a humane alternative to more traditional 
corporal punishments such as whipping or branding. 


RG 48. Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior 








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Metropolitan Police Department "blotter" April 14, 1865. The 

District's most infamous crime, the assassination of President Abraham 
Lincoln, shook the nation and plunged it into mourning. On the pages 
from the Metropolitan Police “blotters” for April 14, 1865, the police 
noted the date of the crime, the names of witnesses, and the evidence 
recovered at the scene. 

RG 351. Records of the Government of the District of Columbia 


Courtesy of the Library of Congress (USZ-62-33804) 


“The Assassination of President Lincoln at Ford's Theatre on 
the Night of April 14, 1865.” 
























WEiAfafjg 

MMS 


No. 1JI —VOL V1L) 


NEW YORK, SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 1859. 


ADA LEIGH; OR, THE LOVE TEST, 

»U1 U food » UU of ftbaorblng tnlftTftftl . ft ad our r,*d*r» wUI won 
dlKotu tor IbftmftftlTM Ikftl 10 ftocorsla datlafftUoo of bumfta eh* 
wm, tbs porv«7»l of ft.oUn.ftoi fto4 lb* dft.ftlopBftDt of ft flftftly 
oooatooclod plot. Ada Lamu * ft Iftift tool b** mModi bftftft «ar- 
pft ft —J In munM. L«l ftTftrybodj toad IV A •yaoytta of Ihft 
chapton pubUah- <i itoirUMii girt* la tbl* ooiaUr 


THE WASHINGTON TRAOE 

SHOOTING OF PHILIP BARTON KEY 
OANIEL E. SICKLES, Of NEW Y 

( With Ibft o<Wy corrfcl lOuttratwn* puNutod ; mad* 
by oar Rpenal drful) 

0* lb* ftAftrooon of 8und»y. February ttth. lb* cily ,T»ahu. 

• roddraly thrown into a *t*U ,.f uitooM ticiiemaoi *a Iftars 



U.S. Park Policeman near the State, War, and Navy Building, 
ca. 1904. Washington, DC, is a city with many different police forces. 
Historically, differing jurisdictions, lack of personnel, and the city's 
unique place as the nation's capital have led to divided responsibility 
among forces such as the Metropolitan Police, the Capitol Police, the 
Auxiliary Guard, and the Uniformed Division of the Secret Service. 

RG 42, Records of the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the 
National Capital (42-SPB-96) 


The Murder of Philip Barton Key, February 27, 1859. 

Congressman Daniel E. Sickles of New York shot Philip Barton Key in 
Lafayette Park when he discovered Key was having an affair with Mrs. 
Sickles. The resulting trial caused considerable scandal in Washington, 
but it also set legal precedent because it marked the first successful use 
of a temporary insanity defense in a U.S. murder trial. 

Courtesy of the Library of Congress 


77 

































A City of Neighborhoods. Washington, DC, boasts 

at least 70 distinctively identifiable neighborhoods. Each has its own 
history; each reflects the city’s economic, social, and racial makeup. 
Some, for example, have been home to Washington’s ethnic commu¬ 
nities. Washington’s small Chinatown neighborhood has had two 
locations. The first was located near 4th and Pennsylvania Avenue, 
NW During the 1930s construction of the Federal Triangle forced its 
relocation to near 7th and H Streets, NW While many of its residents 
have moved away from the city, it is still a center for Chinese 
business and community life. During the 19th century a Jewish 
immigrant community from Germany and Russia lived in Southwest 
Washington, where they built several family-owned businesses 
including tailor shops, clothing stores, and a millinery business. 
More recently, the Adams-Morgan neighborhood south of Rock 
Creek Park in Northwest has become home for emigrants from 
Central America. 

Other neighborhoods owed their development to improve¬ 
ments in transportation, ties to local institutions, or social and 
economic change. In the early 19th century, residential areas grew 
up near government buildings or near other places of work, such as 
the Navy Yard. By the 1880s these traditional “walking city” 
neighborhoods were being replaced by the growth of “streetcar 
suburbs,” such as Chevy Chase, Cleveland Park, and Eckington, 
which grew up along the rail lines and allowed residents to live in 
one part of the city and work in another. 


78 









Opposite: “Small boy by alley housing in Southwest,” by 
Gordon Parks, 1942. Washington, DC, is one of only a few American 
cities where residences sprang up in alleys. Though alley dwellings were 
substandard, alley life made for close-knit communities and provided 
homes to hundreds of poor families. 

’Courtesy of the Library of Congress (USW3-11061-C) 


“Schott’s Alley,” ca. 1940. Located near the Capitol, Schott’s Alley 
was often photographed because the grand government buildings in 
the background provided a striking contrast to the poverty found in 
the alleys. In the background of this photograph is the Russell Senate 
Office Building. 

RG 328, Records of the National Capital Planning Commission (328-M-2) 


79 


















Washington, DC, is also one of only a few American cities where 
neighborhoods sprang up in alleys. Beginning around the Civil War, 
people began to occupy Washington’s large city blocks, often living 
in former carriage houses or slave quarters. By the end of the 19th 
century, formal residences had been built and rented to poor, often 
black, Washingtonians. These alley dwellings were usually poorly 
constructed, overcrowded, and badly maintained by their land¬ 
lords, yet they also provided their residents with a strong, close-knit 
community. Today, most of the poor have been moved out of alleys, 
and while it is difficult to dispute that alley life was difficult, whether 
it was harder than living in one of today’s massive and anonymous 
public housing projects is debatable. 

Two neighborhoods, Thomas Circle and Anacostia, are exam¬ 
ples of economic and social differences in the city. The Thomas 
Circle area developed at the end of the 19th century as a place where 
the well-to-do could live in comfort and style. Around the circle 
were built large homes and apartment houses. One landmark, the 
Portland Flats, was the District’s first luxury apartment house and 
featured high ceilings, two fireplaces in each apartment, steam heat, 
skylights, elevators, and a restaurant. 

Anacostia, then called Uniontown, began as a working-class 
suburb within walking distance of the Navy Yard. A real estate 
partnership called the Union Land Company purchased 100 acres of 
land, subdivided it into 15 square blocks, and sold them at prices the 
working class could afford. An exclusively white neighborhood, all 
houses sold in Uniontown contained restrictive covenants in their 


80 





ALLEY DWELLING AUTHORITY 













deeds of sale that forbade sale to nonwhites. This covenant was 
formally broken when, in 1877, civil rights advocate and author 
Frederick Douglass moved to Uniontown. 

After the Civil War, a new community for blacks, Barry’s Farm, 
was founded just south of Uniontown. In the spring of 1867, 
freedmen were hired at $1.25 a day to fell trees, clear brush, and cut 
roads. When the land was prepared, 1-acre tracts were sold for $125 
to $300. Many farm workers put aside 50 cents from each day’s 
earnings toward a purchase of a home, and Barry’s Farm quickly 
became a complete community; residents built not only homes but 
churches, stores, and schools. 

As its name implies, American University Park’s origins were 
closely linked to the development of American University. Shortly 
after the school’s founding in 1890, two real estate developers 
purchased 170 acres on the Maryland border near the site of an old 
Civil War fort in upper Northwest Washington. They began selling 
lots in 1897, hoping to create a real estate boom linked to the 
university’s growth. Growth did not take place until the 1920s, and it 
was only then that American University Park began to emerge as the 
residential community it is today. 


Opposite: “It’s Here Low-Rent Housing for White Families 
of Low Income,” 1940. In theory, alley residents were to be relocated 
to new “model” communities. Because of discriminatory practices, 
however, new housing was often not available to the mostly black 
former alley dwellers. 

RG 302. Records of the National Capital Housing Authority (.302-DC2-55A) 



“St. Mary’s Court, Square 42, Alley houses looking south,” 
November 8, 1935. 

*RG 302. Records of the National Capital Housing Authority (302-DC-4-8-D) 



“London Court, Square 1023, 12th, 13th, L and M Streets SE, 
April 1936.” The courtyard was the focus of community life in an alley. 
It was a place to meet, watch children, and exchange news. 

RG 302, Records of the National Capital Housing Authority (302-DC-2-2I-E) 


81 















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Above: Thomas Circle, ca. 1890. Thomas Circle is named for Civil 
War General George Thomas. In the late 19th century the circle devel- 
Opposite: Map of Thomas Circle area, 1893. °P ed int0 a neighborhood for wealthy professionals and government 

officials. Today most of their elegant residences are gone, razed to 

RG 351, Records of the Government of the District of Columbia, Hopkins Atlas make way for hotels and office buildings. 

Courtesy of the Library of Congress (USZ62-33240) 

Opposite, inset: The Portland Flats, 1891. Washington, DC’s first 
luxury apartment, the Portland was constructed in the 1880s on the 
southern edge of Thomas Circle. Notable for its unique shape and 
ornamentation, the lavish building featured two fireplaces in each 
apartment, steam heat, skylights, two elevators, and a public restau¬ 
rant. Washington lost this impressive piece of architectural history 
when the Portland was razed in 1962. 

Courtesy of the Historical Society of Washington, DC (#3317) 


83 











“Garfield Park Wading pool, ca. 1914." Many of Washington's 
neighborhoods have parks that serve as recreation centers for their 
residents. Garfield Park is located in the city's Southeast between the 
Navy Yard and Capitol Hill. In 1914, when this photo was taken, the 
neighborhood was predominantly working class. 

• 

'RG 42, Records of the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the 
National Capital (42-SPB-5) 


“Between 13th and 14th Street, NW, near the intersection of 
Massachusetts Avenue and M Street,” ca. 1900. In 1900 these 
fashionable townhomes near Thomas Circle were the residences of 
wealthy Washingtonians. 

RG 42, Records of the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks (42-SPB-77') 


84 






“Row houses near McKinley High School,” ca. 1950. The row 

house is typical of many Washington, DC, neighborhoods. These homes 
were in Eckington. In 1950 Eckington was a racially mixed middle-class 
neighborhood located in Northeast Washington. 

*RG 306. Records of the United States Information Agency (306-PS-54-I6I39) 



85 

























FORT BAY A Ft, 


Flint 


Map of American University Park, 1897 (detail). American 
University Park is located near the Maryland border near the site of an 
old Civil War fort in upper Northwest Washington. For the first three 
decades of its existence it was isolated from the rest of the city because 
of a lack of transportation and because nearby American University 
failed to grow as expected and bring residents to this corner of the 
District. The house above was drawn on the original map to show 
prospective customers a model of an American University Park 
dwelling. 

RG 351, Records of the Government of the District of Columbia, Building Permit 
*812, February 3, 1883 


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American University Park, 1990. No longer isolated, American 
University Park has developed into an almost exclusively residential 
neighborhood. This overwhelmingly residential flavor has spared AU 
Park from the development battles many other neighborhoods in 
Northwest have fought in recent years. 


Photograph by Bruce I Bustard 











Bridge across the Eastern Branch, ca. 1865. Founded as 
Uniontown in 1854, Anacostia is Washington, DC's oldest “suburb.” 
During the 19th century many residents crossed the Anacostia Bridge 
to their jobs at the Navy Yard. 

RG 111. Records of the Chief Signal Officer (111 B-343) 


88 


















“Scene in Marsh on Anacostia River, Washington, Capitol in 
distance,” ca. 1882 by John K. Hillers. By the 1880s large sections 
of Washington, DC, were urban, but much of the city, such as these 
marshes in Anacostia, remained rural into the mid-20th century. 

RG 57 Records of the Geological Survey (57 PS-233) 


89 




Improvements to Logan Park, Anacostia, ca. 1913. One 

prominent feature in Anacostia was this tree-lined esplanade that soon 
became a center for community life. In 1886 Congress changed the name 
of Uniontown to Anacostia to avoid confusion with the many other 
towns named Uniontown after the Civil War. 


90 


RG 42. Records of the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the 
National Capital (42-SPB-10) 








Above: Frederick Douglass, ca. 1870-75. Anacostia’s most famous 
resident was Frederick Douglass, the 19th-century civil rights advocate, 
diplomat, and writer. A tireless public servant who was interested in local 
affairs as well as national issues, Douglass served on the Legislative 
Council of the District, as its Recorder of Deeds, as Marshall for the 
District, and as President of the Freedmen’s Saving and Trust Company. 

RC 121, Records of the Public Buildings Service (121 -BA-74) 


Right Plat ofUniontown, 1892. When Douglass moved from Capitol 
Hill to Uniontown in 1877, he purchased this substantial tract of land and 
a home. When he did so, Douglass broke Uniontown’s restrictive 
covenant, which forbade the sale of property to nonwhites. 

RG 351, Records of the Government of the District of Columbia, Washington 
County Plats 



91 










































































































































































































Epilogue 

Action’s Capital and Hometown 



Domestic Artifacts from Barry's Farm, Anacostia. Barry's Farm 
was created as a community for blacks shortly after the Civil War. These 
artifacts (a chamber pot, a ginger beer bottle, a stone checker, pipe 
stems, and a toothbrush) were discovered during an archaeological 
excavation preceding construction of Metrorail’s Green Line. They offer 
a glimpse of everyday life in the late 19th and early 20th century. 


Photograph by Joel Breger 

Artifacts courtesy of the District of Columbia Preservation Division 




For most Americans, Washington, DC, is a special place. We come 
here not simply to visit monuments and museums but to protest and 
inaugurate; worship and agitate; mourn and celebrate. But there is 
also a Washington, DC, behind the monuments and the Mall. This is 
the city that is home to hundreds of thousands — a city of neigh¬ 
borhoods, families, schools, and workers. 

The two cities seem distant from one another, yet in reality they 
are quite close. Both can be seen in the history of the city’s 
celebrations and in the history of the ceremonies and demonstra¬ 
tions in the Federal City. The demonstrations, inaugurations, and 
marches Americans associate with the nation’s capital have been 
part of everyday life for generations of Washingtonians. The mil¬ 
lions of Americans who have visited the Federal City over the years 
have also had the opportunity to visit Washington the hometown — 
the Washington behind the monuments. 


Crowds at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, 
August 28, 1963. Americans have traditionally gathered on the Mall or 
in Washington, DC’s streets to make their grievances known to Congress, 
the President, and the rest of the nation. For Washingtonians, the sounds 
of protest are a part of daily life. The March on Washington for Jobs and 
Freedom was the setting for Dr. Martin Luther King's stirring speech 
featuring the memorable phrase, “I have a dream!” 

RG 306, Records of the United States Information Agency (306 SSM-4C-60-23) 


93 




“National Civil Rights Convention,” December 9, 1873. During 
Reconstruction, these Civil Rights advocates came to Washington, DC, 
to lobby for the political and legal rights of black Americans. 

Courtesy of the Library of Congress (USZ-62-68959) 


94 
















Suffragists' March to the Capitol, March 5, 1913. 

Timed to coincide with the inauguration of President 
Woodrow Wilson, the National American Woman Suffrage 
Association staged a march of 5,000 supporters of women’s 
voting rights. The march turned into a near riot as opponents 
lined the parade route and shoved and hurled insults at the 
marchers. Eventually mounted cavalry were called in to 
restore order. 

Courtesy of the Library of Congress (USZ-62-10850) 


Protest against lynching in Georgia, ca. 1945. 

Between 1882 and 1968, 3,446 black people were lynched 
in the United States. Such outrages prompted this protest 
in front of the White House and calls for federal 
antilynching legislation. 

*Courtesy of the Historical Society of Washington, DC (*>27) 



95 
































Grand Review of the Armies of the United States at 
Washington, DC, May 23, 1865. At the end of the Civil War 
200,000 soldiers paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue and in front of 
the President’s reviewing stand. The nation’s capital has been the site 
for numerous victory parades. 

RG 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration (64-CC-6) 


96 


















































Bonus Marchers' encampment in Anacostia, July 28, 1932. 

Called “Camp Marks” after a friendly District of Columbia police officer, 
this shantytown housed hundreds of World War I veterans who came to 
Washington to demand that Congress grant their veterans’ bonuses early. 
Congress refused to pass the “Bonus Bill," and eventually the marchers 
were driven from Washington and their encampments destroyed. 

RG III. Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer (111 -SC-97518) 


97 





Marian Anderson singing at a free concert on the steps of 
the Lincoln Memorial, April 7, 1939. When the Daughters of the 
American Revolution refused to rent Constitution Hall for a concert 
featuring black contralto Marian Anderson because of her race, angry 
protests followed. In response, Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes 
authorized the use of the Lincoln Memorial for an integrated concert. 

RG 306, Records of the United States Information Agency (306-NT-965B-4) 


Aerial photograph of Franklin Roosevelt's inauguration, 
March 1941. Every four years Washington hosts the nation’s inaugural 
celebration. In 1941 Franklin Roosevelt’s formal-swearing in was held on 
the east side of the Capitol Building. Since the 1981 inauguration of 
Ronald Reagan, the ceremonies are usually held on the west side of the 
building, overlooking the Mall. 

RG 373, Records of the Defense Intelligence Agency (Can 1A-376) 


98 



11II111 n 


.IIIH11 ILL 








The funeral procession of John Fitzgerald Kennedy leaves 
the White House grounds, November 25, 1963. The nation's capital 
is the traditional site for state funerals. The events surrounding national 
tragedies such as Lincoln’s assassination, the death of Franklin Delano 
Roosevelt, and the Kennedy funeral have etched views like the above in 
the minds of millions of grieving Americans. 

RG 79, Records of the National Park Service (79-AR-8255-2L) 


99 





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Adams Morgan Day Celebration, September 10, 1979. Ethnic 
festivals and street fairs offer a glimpse of the District’s cultural diversity. 
The Adams-Morgan Festival provides visitors and Washingtonians alike 
with a chance to sample the food, dance, and dress of many different 
parts of the world. 

*Copyright Washington Post; Reprinted by permission of the District of 
Columbia Public Library 


Opposite Chinese Mew Year's Celebration, February 1, 1976. 

While millions of Americans know Washington, DC, as the site of public 
ceremonies and protests, fewer know the Washington that is the home 
for numerous ethnic festivals. One of these celebrates start of the 
Chinese Lunar New Year each February. 

*Copyright Washington Post; Reprinted by permission of the District of 
Columbia Library 


100 








101 










For Further Reading 


THE FEDERAL CITY 


Bowling, Kenneth R. Creating the Federal City, 1774-1800: Potomac Fever. 
Washington, DC: American Institute of Architects Press, 1988. 

Craig, Lois. The Federal Presence, Architecture, Politics, and Symbols in United 
States Government Building. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1979. 

Gutheim, Frederick. Worthy of a Nation, the History of Planning for the Nation's 
Capital. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1977. 

National Archives Trust Fund Board. Washington: The Design of the Federal City. 
Washington, DC: National Archives Trust Fund Board, 1972; Acropolis Books, Ltd., 
1986. 


WASHINGTON AS HOME 


Borchert, James. Alley Life in Washington: Family, Community, Religion, and Folklife 
in the City, 1850-1970. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1980. 

Green, Constance McLaughlin. Washington, Village and Capital; Washington, 

Capital City. 2 vols. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1962, 1963. 

Humphrey, Robert L., and Mary Elizabeth Chambers. Ancient Washington, American 
Indian Cultures of the Potomac Valley. George Washington University Washington 
Studies, no. 6. Washington, DC: George Washington University, 1977. 

Melder, Keith, ed. City of Magnificent Intentions. Washington, DC: The DC History 
Curriculum Project, Intac Inc., 1983. 

Smith, Kathryn Schneider, ed. Washington at Home, An Illustrated History of 
Neighborhoods in the Nation's Capital. Northridge, CA: Windsor Publications, Inc., 
1988. 

Young, James Sterling. The Washington Community, 1800-1828. New York: Columbia 
University Press, 1966. 


102 


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